Karen Carpenter's calm, often somber voice was the most distinctive element of their music, settling in perfectly amidst the precise, lush arrangements provided by her brother Richard. The duo's sound drew more from pre-rock pop than rock & roll, but that didn't prevent the Carpenters from appealing to a variety of audiences, particularly Top 40, easy listening, and adult contemporary. While their popularity declined during the latter half of the '70s, they remained one of the most distinctive and recognizable acts the decade produced.
The Carpenters formed in the late '60s in Downey, CA, after their family moved from their native New Haven, CT. Richard had played piano with a cocktail jazz trio in a handful of local Connecticut nightclubs. Once the family had moved to California, he began to study piano while he supported Karen in a trio that featured Wes Jacobs (tuba/bass). With Jacobs and Richard forming her backup band, Karen was signed to the local Californian record label Magic Lamp, who released two unsuccessful singles by the singer. The trio won a Battle of the Bands contest at the Hollywood Bowl in 1966, which led to a record contract with RCA. Signing under the name The Richard Carpenter Trio, the group cut four songs that were never released. Jacobs left the band at the beginning of 1968.
Following Jacobs' departure, the siblings formed Spectrum with Richard's college friend John Bettis. Spectrum fell apart by the end of the year, but the Carpenters continued performing as a duo. The pair recorded some demos at the house of Los Angeles session musician Joe Osborn; the tape was directed toward Herb Alpert, the head of A&M Records, who signed the duo to his record label in early 1969.
Offering, the Carpenters' first album, was released in November 1969. Neither Offering or the accompanying single, a cover of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," made a big impression. However, the Carpenters' fortunes changed with their second single, a version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Taken from the album Close to You, the single became the group's first number one, spending four weeks on the top of the U.S. charts. "Close to You" became an international hit, beginning a five-year period where the duo was one of the most popular recording acts in the world. During that period the Carpenters won two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist of 1970, and had an impressive string of Top Ten hits, including "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Superstar," "Hurting Each Other," "Goodbye to Love," "Yesterday Once More," and "Top of the World."
After 1975's number-four hit "Only Yesterday," the group's popularity began to decline. For the latter half of the '70s, the duo were plagued by personal problems. Richard had become addicted to prescription drugs; in 1978, he entered a recovery clinic, kicking his habit. Karen, meanwhile, became afflicted with anorexia nervosa, a disease she suffered from for the rest of her life. On top of their health problems, the group's singles had stopped reaching the Top Ten and by 1978, they weren't even reaching the Top 40. Consequently, Karen decided to pursue a solo career, recording a solo album in 1979 with Phil Ramone. The record was not completed at that time (though it would be released in 1996), and she returned to the Carpenters later that year. The reunited duo released their last album of new material, Made in America, in 1981. The album marked a commercial comeback, as "Touch Me When We're Dancing" made it to number 16 on the charts. However, Karen's health continued to decline, forcing the duo out of the spotlight. On February 4, 1983, Karen was found unconscious at her parents' home in Downey; she died in the hospital shortly after due to cardiac arrest, which was later due to the strain on her heart caused by years of crash dieting caused by anorexia nervosa.
After Karen's death, Richard Carpenter concentrated on production work and assembling various compilations of the Carpenters' recorded work. In 1987, he released a solo album called Time, which featured guest appearances by Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
from http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=1607403&contenttype=artistsongs
Let Me Be The One
Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you should find yourself alone
Let me be the one you run to
Let me be the one you come to
When you need someone to turn to
Let me be the one
To set things right
Let me be the one you run to
Let me be the one you come to
When you need someone to turn to
Let me be the one
For love and understanding
To find a quiet place
For silent understanding
A loving touch
Come to me when things go wrong
And there's no love to light the way
Let me be the one you run to
Let me be the one you come to
When you need someone to turn to
Let me be the one
These lyrics to Carpenters' "Let Me Be The One" convey a message of unconditional love and support. The opening line sets the tone of a sleepless night where the person listening to the song might be alone and feeling lonely. In this moment of vulnerability, the singer offers an open invitation to be the person that the listener can come to when they need someone to turn to for comfort and understanding.
The following verse continues that same sentiment with an added layer of support, offering to be the one who can set things right when the world feels upside down. The lyrics implore the listener to come to the singer when they need someone to turn to because the singer is willing to offer love, understanding, and a quiet place for reflection. The final verse reinforces the idea that the singer is there with a loving touch to help guide someone when things go wrong, and they feel lost.
Overall, the message of the song is one of selflessness and unrequited love. The singer is willing to offer their support and love without any expectation of reciprocation. It is a beautiful sentiment that reminds us all that we need people in our lives who can help us navigate difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
Some sleepless night
During a night when you can't sleep
If you should find yourself alone
If you're ever feeling lonely
Let me be the one you run to
Come to me, I'll be there to help you
Let me be the one you come to
I'm always here for you to come to
When you need someone to turn to
When you're feeling lost and need someone to rely on
Let me be the one
Let me be the person who can offer you love and support
To set things right
I'll help fix whatever is troubling you
When this old world's turned upside down
When everything feels chaotic and out of control
For love and understanding
I offer love and empathy
To find a quiet place
A peaceful place to escape the chaos
For silent understanding
I will listen and understand without judgement or interruption
A loving touch
An affectionate gesture to comfort you
Come to me when things go wrong
I'm always here to help when everything falls apart
And there's no love to light the way
When you've lost your way and need love to guide you
Let me be the one you run to
I'll always be here for you to lean on
Let me be the one you come to
I'm here to offer my support and love
When you need someone to turn to
When you're feeling lost, I'll be the one to guide you
Let me be the one
I'll be the person you can always count on
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roger Nichols, Paul Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Emily Tienne
I love this song. Karen’s incredible voice, the key changes, rich orchestration, drums, trumpets. That 1970s sound. Heaven.
Gloss Black
So glad you enjoy ❤
Michael Asay
@Gloss BlackDo much more of them!?
WARDMAN3
I say this on every Carpenter video I see... As a 50 year old guy who lives and breaths pop music and spent my life listening to most every song that has charted since 1960...... There is NO ONE who had a more beautiful voice than Karen Carpenter... Never will be... One of the few who can sing 2 notes and you know who it is.... One of the few who sounded the same live or recorded... We were blessed to have her and she is sorely missed
Rita6868 Sora
Yes! Very well said!Now in my 60's nothing has changed as far as my love for pop music.Pop is and always will be my favorite type of music.Karen will always be my favorite singer. She cared and it always shined through in her voice.I love that as soon as she sings a note the entire world knows it is Karen.Still miss her!
Chuck Fuller
Amen Buddy................As a Younger Brother with a KAREN sister, in the 70's...We did them ALL, me playing the piano like RIchard....UGH......Great times!!
shihlin1
Karen had a one in a mil voice and I've been a lifelong fan.
But if you're talking about unique distinctive voices of the 20th century, for sure Barbra Streisand deserves to be mentioned in the same breadth as Karen.
Forget about Streisand the person bc her personality can be divisive, just talking about her gift as a vocalist as Karen was.
Joseph Ballerini
There’s a warmth and humanity to Karen’s voice that is stunning.
shihlin1
Don't know if you've listened to her sing "My Body Keeps Changing My Mind", one of the singles recorded WITHOUT Richard (as he was recovering from addiction at the time).
Disco and Karen, who ever knew ?
She really should have recorded more songs like this outside the Carpenters realm.
shihlin1
Hard to believe this is just a "demo" version. It sounds better than most finished versions by other singers.
Karen just had that ability to get "inside" a song and bring out the song's meaning.
Supposedly "Superstar" was also recorded in just one take.
Absolutely Amazing.